How to Build a High Performing Team with Sean Murray and Doug Beal

Aug 5, 2022 | Hot Mess Hotline Podcast, Leadership Development, Team Training

High-performing teams are built when individuals go through challenges together. Sean Murray and Doug Beal bring us the real-life story of a gold metal Olympic team from the 80s who could barely work together in the beginning. In today’s episode you’ll learn that you actually don’t need the smartest, most talented, highly skilled players for your business team to be high performing.

During much of the 2010s (and still today), there was a fixation on hiring “the best talent.” We think if we just hire the Lebron James of business intelligence, or the Peyton Manning of sales leadership, then we’ll have a high performing team. Yes a team can be better because of one superstar, but that superstar alone doesn’t create a high-performing team.

For my fellow Hoosiers, you’ll remember the Colts won 2 games in the season Peyton had to sit out. They had no back up plan or strength on the team without him and the ENTIRE team failed because of it.

The same is true for your team at work. Listen in to this episode with leadership coach Sean Murray and volleyball coach and executive Doug Beal for timeless lessons on creating innovative, successful teams — in sports, business, and life:

To move from a group of rock stars to a cohesive team, you need a shared challenging experience
You can’t ignore the lack of success indicators and expect to win
Shifts in strategy require new leaders to step up in new ways
When you’re too close to a problem, you can’t see it objectively
Team culture is differentiator from your competitors
Team goals require individual players to put their own goals second to team goals
You have to be willing to risk failure if you want to win
Getting uncomfortable creates dramatic shifts in cultures and new leaders
As a leader you must have a range of opinions around you
Bonds of trust are created through serving each other
Copying others will only get you so far, but it won’t make you successful
Be willing to look foolish
Sometimes you have to fire the best player

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About Sean Murray

Sean Murray, the founder and CEO of RealTime Performance. Sean has over twenty years of experience in leadership and organization development. Sean helps organizations unleash the human factors that drive business success. He has facilitated programs in leadership, inclusion, decision making, team building and innovation for clients including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, FedEx, and Nordstrom. Sean is also the author of “If Gold Is Our Destiny: How a Team of Mavericks Came Together for Olympic Glory”, about the 1984 U.S. men’s national volleyball team and their improbable journey to a gold medal.

About Doug Beal

Doug Beal is the former Executive Director of USA Volleyball, serving in that role from 2005 – 2016. Prior to that, Doug served various roles for USA Volleyball, including two stints as the head coach for the men’s national team. First, from 1976 – 1984, he coached the team to its first gold medal at the 1984 Olympics and again from 1997 to 2004.

Read more about the book here and purchase your copy now on Amazon.

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